Non-traditional visitors' skills

and expectations in museums

Anikó Miszné Korenchy Museum learning facilitator

Hungarian Museum of

Trade and Tourism

• General trends

• Special case of our museum

• Tour of our museum

• Try our chocolate-making

session

Theoretical ramblings

• Skills and expectations?

• What is non-traditional?

• Do they come together or separately? Are these the same in all museums?

• Are expectations just about learning?

History of museums

History of museums

• Temple dedicated to the Muses

• Pinakotheke/Galleries

• Private collections – Cabinets of Curiosities

• Bothanic gardens (practical use: herbs for remedies)

Rarely open to the public/ Private viewings

BUT visitors felt priviledged;

FOR learning and enjoyment

History of museums

• University museums – Ashmolean, 1677

• Private collections opened to the public

(disappointment for both sides due to the lack of interpretation?)

Education through exhibitions

• Trade fairs and public exhibitions

(celebrating progress and achievements

through history)

• Crystal Palace

London, 1851

• Skansen,

Stockholm, 1891

Expectations 1.

• to look upon beauty

• to discuss ideas with others

• to experiment with natural phenomena

• to be „amused”

• to learn

• to engage with objects and information

„From a temple to a forum” (Duncan Cameron, 1970s)

Learning and enjoyment

• Visitor studies and adult learning theories

relatively new

Collins (1991) explores adult learning as the

interactive relationship of theory and practice. In

basic terms, the adult learner studies a particular

theory and then puts it into practice when

presented with the opportunity to do so. Thus,

the understanding of an adult learning theory

can prompt practice, and practice can prompt

theory revision.

Adult learners• Self-direction

• Practical and results-oriented

• Less open-minded

• Slower learning, yet more integrative knowledge

• Use personal experience as a resource

• Intrinsic motivation

• Multi-level responsibilities

• High expectations(Relevance)

Expectations 2.

• easiness and fun

• cultural entertainment

• personal identification

• historical reminiscences

• escapism

(A study of experience expectations of museum visitors by Chieh-Wen Shenga és Ming-Chia Chen, In: Tourism Mangement, Volume 33, Issue 1, February 2012, Pages 53–60)

Museumness ScaleNo, it is not a

museum

Yes, it is a

museum

Zoo 68% 7%

Aquarium 57% 11%

Botanical Garden 50% 7%

Children’s 36% 29%

Art Gallery 14% 43%

Industrial 14% 68%

Technology 7% 75%

Science 0% 71%

History 0% 100%

Archaeological 0% 100%

Source: MEETING VISITORS’ EXPECTATIONS

The Perceived Degree of Museumness

Angeliki Antoniou and George Lepouras

https://www.academia.edu/2982609/MEETING_VISITORSEXPECTATIONS

Expectations 3.

Museum

• learning

(fun activity in a historical or

archeological museum

will surprise the visitor)

• socializing

• entertainment (not

important)

Not a museum

• entertainment

• socializing

• learning

Expectations of future visitors 1.• More senior visitors (refusing to be called retired)

• Accessibility issues (physical, reading, manually-operated interactives) BUT with modern design

2030 Vision: Anticipating the Needs and

Expectations of Museum Visitors of the Future,

Smithsonian Institute, Office of Policy and

Analysis, Washington, DC 20013, July 2007

Expectations of future visitors 2.• Activities that keep them mentally fit

(Conscious on health)• (A brain healthy day at the museum could include a brain muscle

workout from stimulating exhibitions and interactives, cardiovascular exercise walking the miles of exhibition pathways, and a lunch rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.)

Expectations of future visitors 3.• Generation X: spend time with their family (including family and dad-

focused programming (such as the Bronx Zoo’s ‘Daddy and Me’ program), outdoor space, reading/nursing rooms, and family bathrooms. (Reach Advisors, 2007); more contact with community members*;

Expectations of future visitors 4.

• Generation Y: special relations to technology; different ways of collecting and sharing information; importance of social networks; mobile technology and reachable everywhere; multi-tasking;

Their learning: more self directed and less dependent on top-down instruction, better arrayed to capture new information inputs, more reliant on feedback and response, more tied to group knowledge, and more open to cross-discipline insights, creating its own ‘tagged’ taxonomies. (Rainie, 2006)

Other demograhic trends• an increased proportion of minorities in the

population,

• a greater number of non-traditional types of households,

• increased diversity in youth social groups

In response

Museums must

• think of audiences as active participants and not passive consumers of information;

• be willing to place young people in positions of real authority to affect programs and outreach(Tagging)– www.steve.museum, a collaborative online research

project run by volunteers from primarily art museums

– Smithsonian Photography Initiative http://photography.si.edu/ that allows users to explore the collections through user-generated keywords

James Heaton

Inclusive museums

• Museums as Places for Intercultural Dialogue

http://www.ne-mo.org/fileadmin/Dateien/public/service/Handbook_MAPforID_EN.pdf

• Museum Literacyhttp://www.fitzcarraldo.it/ricerca/pdf/musli_finalpublication.pdf

• Community Exhibitions as Tools for Adults’ Individual Development

Final conference May 18-20, Budapest

Hungarian Museum of Trade and

Tourism

CreativityFun and

New skills

Reminiscen

ce and

Socializing

Co-curation

Increased self-esteem

Involvement

Thank you for your attention

Miszné Korenchy Anikó

Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism

www.mkvm.hu

E-mail: korenchy.aniko@mkvm.hu

or mlalapitvany@gmail.com